Township responsibilites vary from place to place

April 03, 2007

Editor's note: News Line provides answers to questions about what's going on in northeastern South Dakota. The question - which might have been edited - was either recently called in to the American News News Line or was generated from discussions American News employees are hearing around town. Q. What are the townships' responsibilities as to snow removal from township roads? A. That depends on the township one lives in, said Gail Brock, executive director of the South Dakota Association of Towns and Townships. Townships set their own policies when it comes to road maintenance, graveling and snow removal. State law says only that townships "may" clear roads to make them passable for school busses, Brock said. She said townships don't have any obligations to remove snow. The association has received calls in the past couple of weeks asking about snow removal, she said. Brock said that she and others cleared the township road they live on. Sometimes, that's part of living in the country, she said. When you have a question for News Line, give us a call at (605) 226-1600, ext. 403. Or e-mail us at americannews@aberdeennews.com. All questions must include a name and telephone number. We'll research answers and print them, or if the topic merits a full story, we'll look into that. Remember, if you know of news that we haven't yet reported, call the American News Line. We'll check it out, and if there's a story, we'll write about it. We don't offer advice or spread gossip. We're in the news business - and with your help, we'll bring more of the news that readers want. - ews Line answers appear Tuesday through Saturday in the American News. If you would like to view previous News Line answers, visit the Web site www.aberdeennews.com. Click on "News" and then "News Line."